The building of a big new high-end development at Turtle Bay on Oahu’s North Shore will remain on pause as the developers respond to comments on its plans made during a review by the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.

Utah-based developer Areté Collective first applied for the permits nearly two years ago.

The company intends to eventually build up to 350 private residential units on 65 acres of land it purchased in April near the Turtle Bay Resort at Kuilima Bay.

The DPP reviewed plans for the first four buildings, each of which will have five units that the developers said at a recent public meeting would sell for between $6 and $8 million.

DPP spokesperson Curtis Lum confirmed last week that the department had completed its initial review and returned the plans to Areté Collective with comments and was now awaiting a response.

The project has drawn significant community attention because of the environmental sensitivity of the coastal location and a lengthy legal and legislative history associated with resort development and public access to adjoining conservation land.

The content of the DPP’s comments has not been made public, but Areté’s planned development required additional review by DPP’s Land Use Division and the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources because some buildings would be set back less than the usual 300 feet from the certified shoreline required in state Special Management Areas.

Civil Beat has submitted a public records request for the comments. 

Areté’s CEO Rebecca Buchan said via email Monday that her company is “actively responding to the comments from the Department of Planning and Permitting on the permit applications.

“While we cannot speculate about how long it may take for DPP to process the responses and applications, Areté Collective will not begin any vertical construction activities until receiving the final ministerial approval of the required permits,” Buchan said.

Buchan had previously said Areté was pausing “vertical and horizontal construction” to enable more public outreach by the company at neighborhood board meetings, but had expected to be able to restart building on Dec. 1.

Contractors for Areté have been engaged in clearing and grading of the first building location known as RR3 since April under a site preparation permit, aerial photography by Civil Beat confirmed.

The review process is being closely watched by groups like the Kahuku Community Association and the newly formed Kupa’a Kuilima, which have been calling for a pause in all construction until the full completion of the permitting process.

Areté was not required to go through a new environmental review process, because the DPP determined in 2022 that an Environmental Impact Statement approved in 2013 adequately addressed the project proposed.

Kupa’a Kuilima has circulated a petition calling for an updated SEIS and, a renegotiation of a community benefits package from a 1986 Unilateral Agreement between the state, county and future developers of the resort and adjoining permitted areas.